box garden with plants

Edible Landscapes

Provide fresh fruit and vegetables to people in food insecure neighborhoods.

Edible Landscapes is an award-winning program through Mecklenburg County Public Health that establishes community gardens and orchards to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to communities who need it. The department works to install them through partnerships with community and faith-based organizations positioned in food insecure neighborhoods.

Installation

Installations occur in early spring (March to May) and late fall (October to November). We spend the months leading up to the install: 

  • Planning together and ensuring that you are set up for success 
     
  • Determining what and when to plant
      
  • Establishing what to do when harvesting 
      
  • Creating a sustainable volunteer program who will assist in the install, maintenance, and harvest of the landscape

After the Installation

The community partner is responsible to maintain the landscape by planting, pruning, and tending to the landscape. Harvesting, measuring the harvest, an distributing the fruits of the landscape throughout the season is also the responsibility of the organization.

Request an Edible Landscape at your organization.

Map and Locations

Anyone who wishes to volunteer or take advantage of the Edible Landscapes program should contact and work with the locations for edible landscapes listed below.

Elizabeth Traditional Elementary School
1601 Park Drive, Charlotte 28204

Faith CME Church
457 Wellingford Street, Charlotte, NC 28213

Friendship Missionary Baptist Church
3400 Beatties Ford Road, Charlotte, NC 28216

Galilee Center
3601 Central Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28205

Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church
3307 Rea Road, Charlotte 28226

Grier Heights Community Center
3100 Leroy Street, Charlotte, NC 28205

The Heights Ministry Church
2137 B Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28216

Hope House
15604 Northcross Drive, Huntersville 28078

Iglesia Puerto Nuevo
9401 South Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC 28273

Kingdom Harvest Bibleway Church
5236 Statesville Road, Charlotte, NC 28269

Martin Luther King, Jr. MIddle School
500 Bilmark Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28213

The Meadows at Plato Price
4201 Morris Field Drive, Charlotte 28208

Mecklenburg County Public Health -SEHD
249 Billingsley Road, Charlotte, NC 28211

Moore's Sanctuary AME Zion Church
4101 Morris Field Drive, Charlotte, NC 28208

Mountain Island Lake Academy
905 Pleasant Grove Road, Charlotte, NC 28216

New Zion Missionary Baptist Church
217 W. Todd Lane, Charlotte, NC 28208

Niner Academy at Amay James
2414 Lester St, Charlotte, NC 28208

Northridge Middle School
7601 The Plaza, Charlotte, NC 28215

Pine Valley Neighborhood Park
2422 Longleaf Drive, Charlote, NC 28210

Reeder Memorial Baptist Church
3725 Beatties Ford Road, Charlotte, NC 28216

Rockwell AME Zion Church
6101 Rockwell Church Road, Charlotte, NC 28269

Shiloh Institutional Baptist Church
2400 Greenland Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28208

St. Johns United Methodist Church
4305 Monroe Road, Charlotte 28205

Statesville Avenue Presbyterian Church
3435 Nevin Road, Charlotte 28269

Strawn Towers
1125 S. Caldwell St., Charlotte 28203

Steele Creek Church -Eastfield
11800 Eastfield Road, Charlotte, NC 28078

Sugaw Creek Recreation Center
943 West Sugar Creek Road, Charlotte, NC 28213

Thomasboro Academy
538 Bradford Drive, Charlotte, NC 28208

Urban Institute for Strengthening Families
8801 Grier Road, Charlotte, NC 28215

University Park Creative Arts School
2400 Hildebrand St., Charlotte 28216

Unsheltered Tourtise
9339 Beatties Ford Road , Huntersvile 28078

West Mecklenburg High School
7400 Tuckaseegee Road, Charlotte, NC 28214

Will of God Outreach Ministries
4700 Willard St, Charlotte, NC 28208

Woods Friendly Community Garden
9415 Monarda Court, Charlotte, NC 28216

Zealous Empowering Nurturer, Inc (ZEN)
3811 Prosperity Church Road, Charlotte, NC 28269

Awards and Recognitions

The National Association of Counties (NACo) awarded the Edible Landscapes program an Achievement Award in the Health category in 2019. The program was cited as an example of how community representatives and food security stakeholders work together to address public health priorities. This effort successfully improves access to fresh produce and demonstrates that edible landscapes can be part of a multi-level approach to improving the availability of healthy foods.

Related Services

Community Partners

NC Coop Extension Logo
Official Mecklenburg County Seal to be used as a logo to represent the County in visual and marketing communications.
NC State Master Gardener Logo
Logo features illustration on two people of different ethnicities shaking hands.
Urban Institute Strengthening Families logo with iconography representing city life.
The Males Place Logo
Harvesting Humanity Logo

Contact Us

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: 980-314-9485